"He made us believe that we could do better than 6-4 or 7-5," Nicholson said. "Instead of him taking charge, he made us take charge of the team."

When Loughridge replaced Todd Dilbeck as the school’s third head coach since 1976, he kept Alma’s staff intact and didn’t mess with an already young offensive line.

"We put a lot on our receivers to do a lot of things with different formations, but as far as the linemen, the hardest thing for them is the different fronts they face each week and the adjustments they have to make," Loughridge said. "We want to take the mental part out of it and let them be more physical."

Anchored by junior center Mitch Tillery and juniors Dakota Shelton, Ryan Pointer and Chandler Nicholson, Nicholson and his teammates immediately embraced a few offensive changes back in September.

Instead of using a Spread attack, Loughridge and the Airedales borrowed a page from former coach Frank Vines’ playbook.

Two months later, the Airedales are 48 minutes from playing for a state championship.

"Week 2, we started going back to the old traditional Frank Vines’ power I — run it down your throat," Nicholson said. "We were like, ‘We’re going to take the ball and try to run it right down your throat.’"

Changing the mentality during the season might have bothered some teams, not the Airedales.

"It was an adjustment at first," Alma offensive line coach Eric Marsh said. "Good teams make adjustments and we’ve had a little run."

There’s nothing fancy about the Airedales’ attack. Loughridge shortened quarterback Evan Burris’ playbook and running back Malachi White began to shine. But it all starts up front with Nicholson and his linemates.

"Everything’s on our shoulders," Nicholson said. "We’re the first ones to get the blame and the last one to get the glory."

It was a simple formula that has led to nine straight wins and has the Airedales in the semifinals for the first time since 2004.